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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."